50 Heller Eberschwang

Eberschwang is a small Upper Austrian village, and like hundreds of similarly modest municipalities, it issued Notgeld during the severe coin shortage that followed Austria's defeat in the First World War. What makes this particular emission notable is the print run: 12,175,000 pieces is an extraordinary quantity for a rural commune of this size, almost certainly produced for sale to collectors rather than for any genuine local circulation need. By 1920 the Notgeld collector market across Germany and Austria had become a serious commercial phenomenon, and many municipalities printed far beyond local demand to capitalize on it.

Bürgermeister Franz Hofinger's signature appears in facsimile — the volume alone made individual signing impossible.